Home 2022 November

Counterbalance Corrections

We often use an anterior counterbalance to improve an athlete's ability to get depth, particularly on squat patterns. However, I've found that cueing a reach at the same time gets us even higher quality movement. A quality reach drives the scapula into rotation around the rib cage via the serratus anterior instead of just a dump into scapular anterior tilt. Think of it as the difference between an active and passive counterbalance. As you can see in the video on the right, adding a light band can help an athlete feel that reach better.

And while I've got your ear, don't forget about the current Black Friday/Cyber Monday 25% off deals we having going on right now. You can learn more HERE.

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2022 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales!

Just like everyone else on the planet, I'm offering some great Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. We're just going to kick it off a week early so you have time to sort through it all! From now through next Monday (11/28) at midnight, you can get 25% off the following resources by using the coupon code BF2022 at checkout.

These eight resources can be purchased through my secure website:

Sturdy Shoulder Solutions - My most recent product release delves going into a ton of depth on some important topics with respect to upper extremity evaluation, programming, and training. Learn more HERE.

CSP Innovations - A collaborative effort by the Cressey Sports Performance staff about a variety of topics. Learn more HERE.

The Specialization Success Guide - A great resource for those looking to pursue strength gains on the big three (squat, bench press, deadlift). Learn more HERE.

The Ultimate Offseason Training Manual - This was the first book I wrote, and it's stood the test of time because of how much of the writing was based on principles that'll last forever. Learn more HERE.

Understanding and Coaching the Anterior Core - A presentation that will bring you up to speed on an important aspect of core training for health and high performance. Learn more HERE.

The Truth About Unstable Surface Training - This e-book covers one of the more controversial topics in the training and rehabilitation worlds today. Learn more HERE.

Everything Elbow - A quick presentation that highlights the key aspects of taking care of throwing elbows. Learn more HERE.

The Art of the Deload - A special report that helps you sort through various approaches to deloading in training programs. Learn more HERE.

And, these two resources I co-created with Mike Reinold can be purchased through his website:

Functional Stability Training (includes Core, Upper, Lower, and Optimizing Movement) - We cover everything from assessment, to programming, to coaching cues, to bridging the gap between rehab and high performance.

Optimal Shoulder Performance - This is a great "primer" on the basics of the shoulder.

Remember, just enter BF2022 to get the discount.

Enjoy!

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5 Drills for Dynamic Trunk Deceleration

Today's guest post comes from Cressey Sports Performance - Florida coach, Eduardo Valle.

Coaches and athletes often get fixated on power production and forget about force absorption, or deceleration. Deceleration is an important quality for athletes to possess, as it will help them stay within themselves when performing a task and lessen injury risk. A pitcher or a hitter that can't decelerate may spin wildly out of control. A rotator cuff that can't slow your arm action down is a recipe for an arm injury. A hitter that can't decelerate sufficiently can't check his swing. There are countless other examples - and this is why we take deceleration training quite seriously. With that in mind, here are five non-traditional drills to implement dynamic trunk deceleration into your training.

1. Anti-Rotation Landmine Windmill: With this drill, you are trying to control the weight on the way down without rotating through your hip, as this will promote trunk deceleration without hip involvement. This is also a good strengthening exercise as you have to then rotate back to the center and repeat to the other side. Choose your weight carefully, as this is an easy one to cheat.

2. Split Stance High to Low Aquabag Chop (over Front Leg): This is a more dynamic exercise overall and one that has immediate transfer to the field, as every baseball player throws and needs to be able to decelerate properly to avoid spinning out of control or missing their target. This will also help athletes to learn how to absorb force into that lead hip.

3. Pallof Press with Deceleration: This exercise is reactive in nature. You're going to set-up like a normal Pallof Press, and then you're going to let go and rapidly catch the handle again. This will challenge your core to quickly stop your trunk from going into excess rotation.

4. Proteus Straight Arm Anti-Rotations: This is a more dynamic progression from the landmine anti-rotation drill I demonstrated earlier. Here, we're rotating our upper body as fast as possible and coming to an immediate stop at end-range. This is extremely challenging because if you are unable to stop properly, you simply lose your balance and fall off to the side. We want to ensure that our trunk can stop itself independently from our hips so as to not put too much stress or rely too much on our hips when everything is working together.

5. Proteus Split Stance High to Low Chop (over Front Leg): Similar to the Aquabag chop, we are going through a modified throwing motion, trying to exert as much force as possible. If we are able to properly absorb our high output here, then we should be able to have more success on the mound maintaining good posture after a pitch instead of spinning uncontrollably.

The lighter/faster drills here typically work well as part of "pre-work." In other words, we'll integrate them after warm-ups and before we get to our lifting for the day. They pair well as fillers between medicine ball drills, too. Conversely, if the loads are heavier, they're best integrated as assistance exercises during strength training sessions.

About the Author

Eduardo Valle is a strength and conditioning coach at Cressey Sports Performance - Florida. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS.Ed in Kinesiology. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, Eduardo also works as part of the UVA Sports Medicine Staff as an Athletic Training Student; this experience helped shape his view of exercise as medicine being an integral part of both mitigating injury and maximizing performance. He's currently in a Master's program at Florida Atlantic University for Exercise Science and Health Promotion. You can follow him on Instagram at @edu_valle2.

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Why You Can’t Feel Your Serratus Anterior Working

Recently, I received an inquiry from a follower who asked why it's so hard to "feel" serratus anterior targeted exercises. There's a fair amount to unpack in this regard, so I recorded a video on the topic:

I dig in much deeper in my popular resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions. You can learn more at www.SturdyShoulders.com.


Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!

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Now Available: Short-Sleeve Black CSP Hoodies!

I'm happy to announce that we're making the 2022 edition of the Cressey Performance Hoodie is available for purchase.  These have been super popular with our in-person athletes, and with hoodie season upon us, it seemed like a good time to share them with a larger audience!

These run pretty true to size, and are $39.99 plus shipping.  You can pick up your size by clicking on one of the following links:

Small

Medium

Large

Extra Large

XXL

Enjoy!

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